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[quote=Anonymous]DD was deciding between UVA and VT engineering (also UCSD and USC).

This was her decision making. VT was the better overall program. The rank was justified.

More resources for pretty much everything related to engineering. Great school spirit, higher stature of engineering program for within the school (it was the pride of VT).

But it was a much bigger program and had a lot of the disadvantages of big programs, large class sizes, hard to get to know professors, students in the bottom half struggled to get high quality jobs (they did OK, just not great), little academic support or advising, more weed out type classes and atmosphere, just overall more competition for all those resources.

UVA was smaller, less majors, less tenured faculty, worse facilities and labs, less engineering clubs and competition teams. But the school was half the size and it was easier to get to know fellow students in your major and professors. It was easier to get research and it wasn't a competitive free for all for everything. Students weren't so reliant on career services for jobs and had more varied interests in what they wanted to, not everything was gunning for the same big companies. People seem to network more.

It was a lot harder to get into UVA and the students seemed to be more consistently high caliber. So there wasn't a lot of weedout stuff going on.  VT seemed to have more rural, private school (meaning like small Christian schools not big Catholic or selective private schools) and poorer students that didn't take Calc. in H.S. or had a ton of IB or AP. There were a lot more community college transfers at VT than UVA for engineering. So the top half of the VT students were of similar quality at UVA but the bottom was a lot worse.

She didn't like how UVA overall was way more affluent and snobby, and like the more middle class vibe at VT.

Felt more UVA engineering students were probably tilting shifting to business and management vs. typical technical oriented tracks. Seems VT was better for nerdy kids like her.

She was really on the fence, but I think the thing that tilted in UVA's favor was that it was easier to transfer into VT than UVA if she ended up not liking it or wanting to switch majors. For example, to switch from engineering to say business is really hard at UVA. It would be easier for her to transfer to VT or JMU to do business than do an internal transfer at UVA.

She's seems to like it, but it isn't perfect.

Funny thing, one thing in favor for VT was its school spirit and how they are really into their sports teams. UVA seemed very aloof about their sports teams. Then out of nowhere, UVA's mens and womens basketball teams have great years and the football team nearly won the ACC. She had more fun at games than she thought she would. But I warned her that UVA may not be that good next year.

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